Power 100

Updated Oct. 13, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

1. Fran&ccedil;ois Pinault

To his detractors, and he has a few, Fran&ccedil;ois Pinault -- France's kingpin of luxury -- is an insatiable omnivore who sends out fleets of art advisers like deep-sea fishing trawlers, scooping and buying every artwork in their path. To his fans, and he has plenty, he's a tireless devotee of contemporary art who keeps the market lively and buoyant. He buys more than almost anyone, and he sells more, too: Turnover at Christies, the auction house he owns, overtook that at Sotheby's...